Apparatus for feeding signatures to a rotary drum with angularly spaced grippers

Abstract

A rotary drum with angularly spaced grippers delivers magazine signatures to the collating conveyor of a saddle stitch binding machine. The signatures are supplied to the drum in the form of a running shingle with successive leading signatures being pulled out of the shingle by successive grippers as the latter rotate through a transfer station.

I claim: 
     
       1. The combination of, a drum rotatable continuously about a generally horizontal axis and having a plurality of angularly spaced grippers each adapted to receive and close upon a signature as the gripper rotates through a transfer station, and an apparatus for feeding signatures to said grippers at said transfer station, said apparatus comprising an upright hopper, means for feeding a stream of signatures into the hopper for collection of the signatures in an upright stack in the hopper, conveyor means for stripping signatures one-by-one from the bottom of said stack and for advancing the signatures continuously and forwardly along a predetermined path as a running shingle having a substantially uniform setback, means for driving said conveyor means in timed relation with rotation of said drum, said conveyor means advancing said shingle toward said transfer station and presenting successive leading signatures in said shingle to successive grippers as the grippers rotate through said transfer station whereby successive leading signatures are pulled out of said shingle by successive grippers, said conveyor means comprising an endless belt having an upper run with a first portion extending generally horizontally beneath said hopper and with a second portion sloping downwardly and forwardly from said first portion and leading toward said transfer station, a series of holes space equally along and extending through said belt, and means located adjacent said hopper and beneath the first portion of the upper run of said belt for creating a vacuum, the vacuum acting through said holes to cause the first portion of the upper run of said belt to clutch successive lowermost signatures in said hopper and to strip such signatures from the bottom of said stack. 
     
     
       2. The combination defined in claim 1 further including plates located adjacent opposite edges of and in substantially the same plane as the second portion of the upper run of said belt and coacting with said belt to support said signatures as the latter are advanced to said transfer station, and means for pressing said signatures lightly against said belt and said plate as said signatures are advanced toward said transfer station. 
     
     
       3. The combination of, a drum rotatable continuously about a generally horizontal axis and having a plurality of angularly spaced grippers each adapted to receive and close upon a signature at a transfer station as the gripper rotates through said transfer station, and an apparatus for feeding signatures to said grippers at said transfer station, said apparatus being characterized by an upright hopper adapted to contain an upright stack of generally horizontally disposed signatures, conveyor means for stripping signatures one-by-one from the bottom of said stack and for continuously advancing said signatures fowardly first along a generally horizontal path and then along a downwardly and forwardly sloping path as a running shingle having a substantially uniform setback, means for driving said conveyor means in timed relation with rotation of said drum, the lower end of said downwardly sloping path being located at said transfer station, said conveyor means presenting successive leading signatures to successive grippers as said grippers rotate to said transfer station and while said signatures are still in said running shingle whereby successive leading signatures are pulled out of said shingle by successive grippers as the latter close upon the signatures and rotate out of the transfer station.